Thelma Ruth Griffith Gillenwater, 88, of Griffithsville, born February 8, 1925 the daughter of Cornis and Belva Griffith, passed away March 11, 2013 after a long illness.
She was the proprietor of the former Sugar Shack in Griffithsville and a longtime member of McCorkle Free Will Baptist Church. She loved her home, family, flowers and reading the Bible.
She was preceded in death by her parents, and her husband, Edward B. Gillenwater, Sr., brother, Avis Griffith and sister, Wanda Brogan and grandson, Edward Gillenwater III.
She is survived by three children, Edward B. (Judy) Gillenwater of Griffithsville, Vicki (Jack) Richards of Scott Depot, and Timmy (Ramona) Gillenwater of Griffithsville; brothers Frankie Griffith and Paul Griffith both of Sod and Butch Griffith of Alum Creek; 9 Grandchildren and 22 great grandchildren.
Funeral service will be 2:00 pm Saturday, March 16th, at Curry Funeral Home, 2097 Childress Road, Alum Creek, with Pastors Roe Smith and Frank Chapman officiating. Burial will follow in Pine Grove Cemetery, McCorkle. Family and friends will gather one hour prior to the service.
We are saddened to hear of the passing of Thelma. We would like to send our condolences to E.B., Vicki, Timmy and all other family members. On more of happy note, Thelma was a community fixture when I was growing up. We will all always remember her for providing a place for the Duval Yellowjackets to hang out called the “Sugar Shack”. She made one of the best hamburgers money could buy back then and always provided us with wisdom as she would usually beat us in cards. We had pool and Rook tournaments and before you know it we grew up and some of us moved away. I know a lot of people have a lot of good memories about those days. So let me say So long to a lady that provided a special place at a special time in our lives and will never be forgotten. God Bless Thelma and God Bless her family.
It is nice to know that Jesus demonstrated his power over death. He resurrected people and gave them back to their families. That is what we can look forward to in dealing with the death of our loved ones. Jesus taught us in the Lord’s Prayer that we should pray for conditiions on earth to be as they are in heaven. In heaven, we don’t picture death and sickness. So we have to look forward to a time when we will be with our loved ones again. Then they won’t have the problems and dread of death we all have today. I am so sorry you have to deal with your loss. I am leaving some of the scriptures that have brought me great comfort in dealing with death.
Psalms 37:11,29
Isaiah 25:8
John 5:28,29
John 11:25
Acts 24:15
Revelation 21:4
EB, Judy, Teresa and family & friends,
My sympathies to you all during this very hard time! I never met Thelma but I have heard what a truely wonderful woman she was. Please find comfort in this time knowing that because of her faith in God and her devotion to Him, that she is in such a place that we cannot even begin to understand the peace and tranquility of that eternal home with our Creator. I have just suffered a great loss myself and found comfort in 1 Corinthians 15:51-58, “Death= Victory, Thanks Be To God”! I pray for each of you to find a sense of comfort and joy, even though your hearts are saddened. If there is anything I can do, please let me know!
Love and many prayers for you all, Amy Damron